Looking to shed a small man

I picked up a different flavour protein shake this weekend, Peanut butter. I have been on Strawberry and vanilla for most of this year. So that is killing my sweet tooth. Its almost stomach turning sweet. But sugars etc are all low. So I am not sure what sweetner they use.

Overall its not that I want sweeter oats, or coffee, its that im craving sugar from sweets i think. Its been 16 days now since my last packet. no toffee's, no suckers, no jelly beans and most amazingly, No sausage rolls either!

Im really proud of myself, the scale and this forum are keeping me honest. Im at a point now where if i dont lose more than 200grams a day, im pissed off. I know it wont last forever, I am going to plateau eventually and then i will have to figure out a change in the diet. But that is still over 40kg's away I hope.

Side note, sunday night I got the wife to take my before pics, I didnt have any. So hopefully in a few months i can show you my tellytubby figure, and then my dad bod pics side by side.

Obelix wrote: So time for an update. I dont want to spam everyone so will be toning it down

Yesterday was a really tough one, stood arguing with myself about if i should add a spoon or three of sugar in my oats (i cant rid the house of all sugars as I have a wife and 2 kids who still use)

Then i said, no lets get on the scale first and see. Believe it or not, 197.9kg's... Needless to say, No sugar

This morning I went for a walk, got back, jumped on the scale and 196.9kg's. Almost 10kg's in 16 days!!!!!

Just a small side note, don't obsess over the numbers.
You may jump back to around 200kg or you may keep losing.

Rather focus on body composition and consistency imo, the mass number is important but over a period of time, you should not aim to weigh x kg for 1 second, rather average your goal weight over 3 months of weigh-ins for example.

I don't really see the need for carbs in your diet everyday, but if it helps with adherence maybe..?

I would pull these as soon as you start seeing body composition cease to progress.

Low calorie at your weight will be ok for a while, I don't see damage until you start hitting 30-40kg weight loss as a rough guess. Hit protein, lower the fat, lower the carbs and you will keep progressing.

I don't think this is healthy for someone trying to shed 10kg, but your case is different.

Good job you are making progress.

Obelix wrote: I picked up a different flavour protein shake this weekend, Peanut butter. I have been on Strawberry and vanilla for most of this year. So that is killing my sweet tooth. Its almost stomach turning sweet. But sugars etc are all low. So I am not sure what sweetner they use.

Overall its not that I want sweeter oats, or coffee, its that im craving sugar from sweets i think. Its been 16 days now since my last packet. no toffee's, no suckers, no jelly beans and most amazingly, No sausage rolls either!

Im really proud of myself, the scale and this forum are keeping me honest. Im at a point now where if i dont lose more than 200grams a day, im pissed off. I know it wont last forever, I am going to plateau eventually and then i will have to figure out a change in the diet. But that is still over 40kg's away I hope.

Side note, sunday night I got the wife to take my before pics, I didnt have any. So hopefully in a few months i can show you my tellytubby figure, and then my dad bod pics side by side.

Measuring daily might be setting yourself up for disappointment at times when you need to keep motivated.
Judge your weight on a week to week basis with a mid week weigh in to just keep tabs. You will get to a point where things will fluctuate a little and thats ok. As long as you are lighter at the end of each week then you are doing well. I think you will be ok losing weight for some time before it starts becoming less about weight loss and more about composition

Yeah i realised that weighing every day isnt great. Its not the right way

I am moving it to more monday and thursday/friday weigh ins.


Thing is, up until i was on this diet/meal plan i would vary in weight by up to 2kg's in one day. I think its got to do with water retention or something. its 1% of my body weight....

as for changing the diet, until it doesnt work anymore, I am sticking to it. I dont know why there are so many carbs, or why i have to eat a banana, I just know it works.

So update again,

I have had some issues this week,
had a break in at the house yesterday morning, Skipped gym.
Spent most of the day fixing shit and getting stuff sorted so i missed my afternoon oats, shake and banananana
Did not get 8 hours of sleep, hell even last night there were issues, power went out at 10pm and still hasnt come back on. so needless to say I skipped todays gym session too. not gonna leave the wife and kids at home while its still dark out in a house with no power.


will pickup gym routine on monday again, and continuing with the diet from today. Still no sweets though. 3 weeks now?

Weighed in on Friday and was 195.6

Weighed in this morning, 196.7

So not sure what happened there.




Also, side note, I noticed my "private toilet time" is a lot less lately. On the old diet, I was there daily, like clockwork... Now it's only every 2-3 days and well I think my kids are pushing bigger monsters out. That could be where the extra kilo is.
I understand that my body is using the fuel more efficiently so there should be less waste, but damn I'm talking small amounts here. I also have no idea how much poop weighs...

Its more likely fluid retention than anything else

And the latest update, is two fold..


New PB on Dumbbell press. 60kgs! 2 and a partial, but it counts. Did 40 and 50 for 8 reps, then tried 60. it was one goal I had and I completed it, I did 60's!


As for the weight,
Im officially over the 10kg lost portion. I cant remember exactly what i was on the 12th of November, But it was 205 or 204.5ish,


this morning on the gym scale, 194.4! Its been tough, im not gonna lie. I dont know if I can manage 3-4 months of it, But everyday is a new day. So Small victories



Side note, this is basically the 1month update. I dont see myself making it to the gym tomorrow/sunday. We have family functions to attend

Thats good news!
Usually strength goes down a bit when weight drops and calories drop so its good progress!

Jumping from 50 to 60 (if you didnt do anything between) is a massive jump in weight though (20%)
I've had some DB press goals in terms of weight but I am starting to get on in age and Ive started favoring slower and more reps over higher weights.
The last time I started aggressively pursuing strength my body ached and started to fall apart quite quickly

syntax wrote: Thats good news!
Usually strength goes down a bit when weight drops and calories drop so its good progress!

Jumping from 50 to 60 (if you didnt do anything between) is a massive jump in weight though (20%)

Yeah the dumbbells in the gym are shitty, the 45 and 55's are really long so they mess around if you dont hold thm just right.

the 60 was purely to say i did it (for myself)


strength wise i dont think i have dropped much, which is awesome becuase like you said it normally drops when you lose weight

Congratulations brother! I'm really glad to see you're busy making progress and sticking to the plan. Might even be breaking the 190 mark by the New Year. Be careful around Christmas, it's really easy to get sucked back into the sugar grip. I'll be back in a couple of weeks again to check up on the progress.

So weights been pretty much stable,
We had a work function on friday and a braai at a mates house on sunday.

I kept to the diet as much as possible, I had some booze, But kept to wine instead of beer.
Sunday involved chicken with salads etc. I skipped the salads because I didnt know what sauces etc were in there. So just had braai' chicken. More than 150g though,


New goal is beat the 190's by new years. The only dodgy day coming up is xmas, I should be able to control myself there

Obelix wrote: So weights been pretty much stable,
We had a work function on friday and a braai at a mates house on sunday.

I kept to the diet as much as possible, I had some booze, But kept to wine instead of beer.
Sunday involved chicken with salads etc. I skipped the salads because I didnt know what sauces etc were in there. So just had braai' chicken. More than 150g though,


New goal is beat the 190's by new years. The only dodgy day coming up is xmas, I should be able to control myself there

Plan for xmas.

You can have a more normal meal.
Prepare roughly before hand, if you are going to go all out - fine.
But don't extend it to a week.

One day is one day. Add some walking the next morning and get your mind straight.

I realised that a short while ago, I cant always just eat this diet.
BUT
I also dont have to eat like i did before.



My main changes in december so far, Today was the start of cardio time. I have stopped weights as of this week, increasing time on the bike until i can get on a treadmill and not break it.

this morning was a good 35minute cycle, keeping my heart rate over 140. My smart watch is a little screwey, it showed my heart rate at 195, but after a 1minute rest i was down to 90 again.

Obelix wrote: I realised that a short while ago, I cant always just eat this diet.
BUT
I also dont have to eat like i did before.



My main changes in december so far, Today was the start of cardio time. I have stopped weights as of this week, increasing time on the bike until i can get on a treadmill and not break it.

this morning was a good 35minute cycle, keeping my heart rate over 140. My smart watch is a little screwey, it showed my heart rate at 195, but after a 1minute rest i was down to 90 again.

Does your doc support this?

Personally to be on the safer side, I would keep to very low intensity cardio (bike is good for this) paired with weight training (no bodyweight exercises) on separate days until you are healthy enough to increase intensity of cardio.

Yeah you need to mold this into a diet you can follow as you peel of the weight.
At your current position you can get away with keeping calories very low in general.

But yeah for xmas, just have one sufficient meal you enjoy and some ice cream or dessert and call it there.

I have not been to the doc in a while,
Im feeling fine regarding heart rate and so on, Hence me staying on the bike.

Im avoiding sweets and sugars as much as possible. I dont want the craving to come back too hard.
its been a month now since my last hit

Obelix wrote: I realised that a short while ago, I cant always just eat this diet.
BUT
I also dont have to eat like i did before.



My main changes in december so far, Today was the start of cardio time. I have stopped weights as of this week, increasing time on the bike until i can get on a treadmill and not break it.

this morning was a good 35minute cycle, keeping my heart rate over 140. My smart watch is a little screwey, it showed my heart rate at 195, but after a 1minute rest i was down to 90 again.

Why would you want to stop doing weights and only focus on cardio? This is a stupid move. Weight training is always the goal, and just move more during the day focusing on a step goal of 10 000 a day, you can get at least 2500 of those steps done in your work out session. Finish a set and during your rest you walk around to recover. Going steps is low impact and does not affect your recovery at all.

It's like saying I want to drive a performance car but instead of constantly running a 4L engine just going to put a 2.0l in so I can burn more fuel. Not going to happen. Constantly striving to build muscle is going to use more fuel (calories consumed and when you aren't consuming enough, excess body fat) over doing cardio. The more muscle mass you have, the more energy you burn through on a daily basis. Cardio does nothing for obtaining a good physique in terms of muscular nature. This is far from a good idea and cardio is there to expend excess energy, weight training is there to create longer term muscle mass that is going to burn more calories at rest, as well as during training.

The energy expenditure of a 100kg male vs an 80kg male would probably is only about 300 calories difference in calorie burn if you are sedate, how ever the increase in energy consumption during a weight training session may be larger. The 80kg male may burn 300 calories during his weight session, but the 100kg male may burn 500 calories doing the same thing. Muscle makes you more efficient at burning energy.

Hey man, Missed you! thanks for checking in


So firstly, 193 this morning, not 193,4 or ,5 ... 193 on the dot! next weight update monday


As for focusing on cardio.
I might have phrased it wrong, im not giving up on weight training for ever, its more just for this month, the last 2 weeks.
I have a bunch of aches and pains, I hurt my right bicep a little while moving a UPS around and figured it would be a good time to give them all some rest. I have not taken a rest week in ages, and feel I need it for my joints. They take a hammering already with my weight, then add in the heavier weights i hit in the gym and its gonna need some time to rest.

Gym closes next friday and then opens again on the 3rd of jan. Thats when im hitting the weights again.

I get that weights burn weight philosophy. Thats why I started with weight training too.

Obelix wrote: I realised that a short while ago, I cant always just eat this diet.
BUT
I also dont have to eat like i did before.



My main changes in december so far, Today was the start of cardio time. I have stopped weights as of this week, increasing time on the bike until i can get on a treadmill and not break it.

this morning was a good 35minute cycle, keeping my heart rate over 140. My smart watch is a little screwey, it showed my heart rate at 195, but after a 1minute rest i was down to 90 again.

Get a chest strap. It would be impossible to drop from 195 to 90 in 1 minute.

Monday morning weigh in.

Looks like I really need to relook at my goals,
191.4!

New years is at 189.9 or lower and march goal has changed to 170kg's



Changed up the cardio session a bit, Speedwalking around the gym, managed about 1km in, while dodging some kettle bells and big ass balls. They dont have a running track and im over the treadmill limit so I struggle on that

cycling is still about 20-25minutes

Cardio is harder than I thought...

Cycling for 1 episode of Family guy on netflix, Then walking for one episode of the Its always sunny in phili podcast (At 1.2x speed)

Works out to around 2km's walking


Also, since I started this thread, my daily steps have doubled, I have setup my goal as 10000, But am hitting 11k regularly. Almost purposefully forgetting things in other rooms just to walk twice. Parking further from the shop entrances etc.


Home scale now shows that im 191.6, Its generally been 500g over the gyms one




Side note, Changed protein powder on sunday, I was using Clicks brand, and then a VitaPro branded peanut flavour.

Switched over to the USN hardcore whey, Its on special at clicks now for R300/kg. USN has creatine in it, so I am expecting a little more water retention now, Not sure how much. Havent used since starting the diet

I am very impressed with your progress, brother.

Keep hitting the weights. What worked for me was one hour max in the gym. But then I didn't mess around. Shortish rest between sets, not paying too much attention to the kg's I could lift (only lifted what I could lift to form failure, and a drop set on the last set of an excercise.

Cardio has its place for heart health, so I aim for about 1.5 hrs (that's 15 mins a day) of moderate intensity (say 60% of heart rate max) AFTER the weights.

I also use a cheat day when I'm cutting (usually Sundays) where I eat some junk. No, not a license to go fully bos on it, but I make sure my weekly macros work out to 50% protein, 25-30% carbs, and the rest fat.

It worked for me, so I hope you can take something positive out this. Good luck bro!

Thanks man.
The support from this forum is really something else.


Even when Empire moans, I know he cares.


This morning, last weigh in at the gym for the year 190.7, Was super pissed off when I weighed at home it showed 193.6 for some reason, even after a toilet stop. Took my shoes off and it was all better at 191.2. So still showing the 500g difference.

The fat % on the scale has also dropped from 49% to 45.7% , I dont think they are the most accurate, but changes are changes.

I think its pretty much me for the year, going to walk alot more next week, hopefully get the wife into it too

Really good progress man!
It helps when things are consistently moving in the right direction.
Dont be too hard on yourself over the next week and take time to also enjoy life a little.

Most of the scales arent accurate with BF etc, but they are generally consistently inaccurate. So you can at least see the numbers move in the right direction.

I agree with keeping up the weights but I am a strong advocate for walking for those who are over weight and want to ease into things. It is great for the heart, it is easier on the body, it helps build general endurance which will help you later and it creates mental toughness.

Keep it up and way to go to end the year well

The main big day is tomorrow... after that , theres no tempatation and I should be back on the good path

This morning my home scale showed 190.4, so technically im on 189.9 if i were on the gym scale.

Will be interesting to see on monday what it is .

The weight is a big thing, But I have also lost over 5cm over my belly, neck has shrunk a few cm's too.
Scary to think that when i started i couldnt weigh myself on my home scale, I couldnt measure myself with a tape properly.While walking in the shops today getting the last few things for tomorrow, I had to hold my pants up, How awesome is that?????